DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
8 Results - Showing 1 to 8
PRESS RELEASE

Four People Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Fentanyl

MIAMI – Four South Florida residents have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and meth. On Jan. 16, Gito St. Fort, 35, of West Palm Beach, Fla., a career criminal, was sentenced to 320 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Announces Three New Telemedicine Rules that Continue to Open Access to Telehealth Treatment while Protecting Patients

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is announcing three new rules to make permanent some temporary telemedicine flexibilities established during the COVID-19 public health emergency while also establishing new patient protections. In developing these rules, DEA has focused on the patient to ensure telemedicine is accessible for medical care...
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Guilty Pleas in Albuquerque Fentanyl Case

ALBUQUERQUE – Two Albuquerque drug dealers pleaded guilty to federal charges after attempting to sell 30,000 fentanyl pills, containing approximately 3,200 grams of the drug, to an undercover law enforcement agent. According to court documents, on December 6, 2023, Miguel Antonio Ramirez, 23, and Isaiah Anthony Aragon, 24, conspired to...
PRESS RELEASE

Five Indicted for Drug Trafficking in “The Jungle” and Seattle’s International District

SEATTLE – Five Seattle-area men are in custody following a grand jury indictment for their drug trafficking activity in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. The men are charged federally and have made their initial appearances over the last few days. “We are all...
PRESS RELEASE

Justice Department Sues Stockton-based Nurse Practitioner to Stop Her Sale of Illegal Opioid Prescriptions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The United States has filed a civil complaint against nurse practitioner Joan Rubinger, registered in Stockton, that alleges a long-running nationwide scheme to sell illegal opioid prescriptions for cash, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced. The...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

MIAMI– On Dec. 10, Blake Alfonso Kolessa, 27, of Greenacres, Fla., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for possessing with intent to distribute metonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and methamphetamine. Kolessa previously pled guilty...
PRESS RELEASE

Idaho Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling a Man Fentanyl Pills That Caused His Death

BOISE, Idaho – Jerilyn Martel Hupp, 33, of Boise, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl in a case involving a fatality, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Hupp sold ten fentanyl pills to a man she met online, who subsequently died after ingesting half of a pill containing illicit fentanyl...
PRESS RELEASE

Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Selling Fentanyl That Killed One Woman, Hospitalized Another

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who sold the fentanyl that killed one woman and sent another to the hospital in one day in 2019 to 14 years in prison. Zachary Hovis, 24, provided fentanyl to an 18-year-old woman in the parking...